Qsonix Touchscreen Music Server

In addition to Sooloos and Blue Smoke, Qsonix was also demonstrating the latest iteration of their touchscreen music server system. The fully self-contained Q110 package is comprised of the single DAC/HD drive/software box and up to four touchscreens.

The Q110 package can be built with a variety of options. Disc drive capacity ranges from 250MB to 1.5TB, and you can choose either a 15" or 17" touchscreen. So a 1TB system with 15" touchscreen for example is $7,100. Add $700 for the 17" screen and $1,800 for each additional screen.

The single black box that contains all the hardware has a single optical disc drive/recorder and four pairs of RCA jacks on the back along with a single digital out. There are eight DACs built in, so you can run up to four stereo zones.

Qsonix uses a very different software approach than either Sooloos or Blue Smoke, and after a few minutes of orientation, it was pretty easy to find one's way around the system. Briefly, there are three active areas on the screen: the album browser, the list of playlists, and the playlist itself.

One very compelling feature was the integration of MusicGiants download store right in the interface. I would also consider this a very dangerous feature, as a little browsing through the store could easily lead to a depleted bank account.

Another handy feature was the ability to quickly assemble a playlist and burn it to either an iPod or CD and any resolution you prefer. Another media server to keep an eye on.